An elderly Johnston County woman on a fixed income is the latest victim of a scam. The victim said she was contacted earlier this month by an individual claiming she had won a multi-million dollar sweepstakes. To claim her prize money, she needed to send in $7,500 to cover postal insurance on the delivery of her winnings.
After paying the money, the 72 year-old woman waited several days before realizing she had been scammed. She immediately reported the incident to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office. Officials say it is unlikely she can get her money back.
Officials say there are several signs to watch for including winning a sweepstakes you never remember entering, having to pay a fee to claim your winnings, the scammer uses a free email address, pressures you to act in a hurry, asks you to submit bank, credit card, or personal information, they don’t know you name, pose as a government agency, the correspondence contains many typos, or the winning notification arrives in bulk mail.
